Heaven Sent
by Haras
Summary: Set immediately after OMWF, but with a twist, Something happened to Buffy whle she was in heaven. What was it and what does it mean for Buffy and the Gang? BtVSHP BSSB
1. My Immortal

A/N: Hi guys, just wanted to know what you thought of this, it's all I've got written of this one at the moment, so I don't know when I'll be able to update, but d'ya think I oughta carry on anyway? Well, tell me what you think. And it will be a crossover, eventually.

Disclaimer: Don't own please don't sue.

Buffy walked out of the bronze in the middle of the final song, she couldn't take it anymore, couldn't be around them now. Not now they knew one of her secrets. They still didn't know the whole truth though, that she really couldn't handle. They didn't know about _Him, _and that was how she intended to keep it.As she walked into the alley, she began singing without even realising it. Quietly and slowly at first, and gaining volume and passion.

"I'm so tired of being here  
suppressed by all my childish fears  
and if you have to leave  
I wish that you would just leave  
'cause your presence still lingers here  
and it won't leave me alone "

As she was singing she thought back to the time they'd had together, so short, but so sweet. She remembered him holding her in his arms and feeling safe, feeling peace. She could still feel a ghost of him, a whisper on the breeze. She shuddered and pulled her arms around herself, spinning to the music in her mind.  
  
"these wounds won't seem to heal  
this pain is just too real  
there's just too much that time cannot erase  
  
when you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears  
when you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears  
I held your hand through all of these years  
but you still have  
all of me  
  
you used to captivate me  
by your resonating life  
now I'm bound by the life you left behind  
your face it haunts  
my once pleasant dreams  
your voice it chased away  
all the sanity in me"

She felt bitterly his loss; she had thought they had eternity, until her friends ripped her from her happiness. She remembered her death and it's after effects very clearly. When she had met him she'd been horrifically confused, thought she was meant to end up in some untold hell dimension, yet she had awoken to find herself bathed in warmth, joy and peace, then he'd stepped into view. They hadn't left each others company since that moment, both drawing something from the other. He took comfort in her arms and found a deep lasting love; he eased his sorrow for those he left behind. And her? She found all the things in him she thought she'd never find. Protection, Unconditional Love, Friendship, and Forgiveness, Everything she'd ever wanted was personified in him. Now they'd been so cruelly ripped apart, by her own friends no less, and life without him was torture for her. After knowing a love so deep and pure, being where she was, it was all too much, she was loosing her grip.  
  
"these wounds won't seem to heal  
this pain is just too real  
there's just too much that time cannot erase  
  
when you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears  
when you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears  
I held your hand through all of these years  
but you still have  
all of me"

She stumbled as her legs threatened to give way, emotions that she'd held in for so long, pushing at her boundaries, threatening to overspill. She struggled to regain some modicum of control, and put a hand out to steady herself. Her fingers grazed the brickwork yet she didn't notice, didn't feel it.  
  
"I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone  
but though you're still with me  
I've been alone all along"

She couldn't, wouldn't believe he wasn't here, kept expecting to turn around and find him standing there. Ready to fold her into his arms, reassure her he'd never leave. But he never was.

when you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears  
when you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears  
I held your hand through all of these years  
but you still have  
all of me "

Buffy looked at the ground as she finished singing, she let a few tears fall from her eyes and reach the ground before taking a deep breath to compose herself and walking off, towards home. She didn't notice her friends watching her, having come out of the club a couple of minutes earlier, and hearing all she'd just sung.

"Oh my God"

"What was that all about?"

"She – She…"

Each of them was dumbstruck at what they'd just witnessed. Still reeling from the shock of finding out that Buffy was in heaven, now it seemed there was something else troubling her as well, something much deeper. They couldn't believe they'd just seen her almost lose control.

"So, what?" Dawn stepped forward, in the direction Buffy had just taken. "What do we do now?"

"I – I have no idea Dawnie" Giles said quietly, stepping up behind the young girl and putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I have absolutely no idea." Dawn turned around and looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"That song…" She looked at him then turned her gaze to the rest, "What's going on, what did that mean?" she asked them all. Receiving nothing but blank looks from them all she turned back to face the direction her sister had just disappeared in.

"We have to find out what's going on, what it meant, we have to help her." She said purposefully.

"We owe her" Willow said quietly. Xander, Anya, Tara, Giles and Dawn nodded silently and the group set off home, making a silent vow to do everything they could for their friend, and to find out what she was holding back now.


	2. Intervention

A/N: I had trouble deciding how this chapter was gonna go, but I'm fairly satisfied with it now. I hope you like it. Sorry it took a while. Please review as it really helps me write, cuz then I know whether you like it, or think it sucks. Thanks to the people who reviewed last time, this is for you.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of it (apart from the plot of course) please don't sue me, because you wouldn't get much.

The gang had headed home after the all-singing all-dancing extravaganza to find Buffy already asleep. Between themselves they had agreed to leave it till the next day to talk to her about what they'd witnessed. However, despite all their good intentions, when the next day came, they couldn't find the words to bring it up. That day passed, and the next and the next, until it had been a fortnight. A fortnight when Buffy had seemed to slip deeper and deeper into depression; till her friends feared they would lose her if it went any further. It wasn't that they figured she's do anything stupid like suicide. But since she'd come back she lost the spark that made her Buffy, and any traces of their friend were rapidly disappearing, the only thing that brought back any trace of her, any spark was patrol, slaying. They feared that one day soon she'd just become the slayer entirely. All she would be is an empty shell.

They'd gathered at Xander's to discuss what they should do to help their friend. All six of them were currently sat in his living room, Willow and Tara on the small couch, Xander on the overstuffed chair with Anya on his lap, and Giles and Dawn on the larger couch.

"So how do we ask her? I mean do we just come out and say it? Like Hey Buffy, we saw you singing a real sad song the other night, please explain what it meant? Huh?" Xander puzzled

"No, No I think we need to be more gentle than that, I mean, we all saw what she was like, what she's been like since. We don't want to make her withdraw more" Willow reasoned, sitting up a little straighter.

"Yeah but maybe it'll take us being abrupt for her to tell us, I mean up till now we've tried being gentle, with the whole 'oh Buffy must have been in hell, lets not talk about it' and look what happened there. She was in heaven but kept it to herself because we didn't push it. Maybe it'd shock it out of her"

"Yeah but Dawnie, it might make her withdraw further, faster" Willow explained to the younger girl

"W-well, we-we've got to d-do something about it. We'll lo-lose her otherwise" Tara stuttered, "and, well, wha-what would've been th-the p-point in b-bringing her b-back?"

They fell silent, all thinking of ways to help their friend, ways of drawing the truth out of her.

"Whatever we do, must be soon, she's slipping away more and more each day. Very soon she'll be gone." Giles voiced everyone's thoughts.

Xander looked up at the assembled group.

"How about now?" They all solemnly nodded their heads and stood as one.

"Let's go".

Buffy was just about to leave to patrol, when her friends and little sister walked through the front door.

"Hi Guys, I'm just out to patrol" she told them. A trace of a gleam in her eyes as she spoke of slaying.

"No, Buffy, we need to talk" Dawn put a hand on her sister's arm. Buffy moved her arm slightly, flinching at the contact but hoping they wouldn't notice. They did and a look passed through the group.

"Can't it wait? As I said, I've gotta patrol." There was a hint of annoyance in her voice, and in her eyes a silent plea to them to just leave it alone. By now she had sort of realised what they wanted to talk about, although she still had no idea they'd heard her last song.

"No it can't wait Buffy, you've been withdrawing from us and we need to talk about this" Willow pleaded with her friend and housemate.

"No, No we're not going to talk about this. You just have to deal, I was in heaven and you pulled me out, What's to talk about?"

"Its more than that Buffy, we know it and you know it" Xander said, taking a step closer to her. She stepped back away, and her gaze flashed to meet his before she looked away.

"No Xand, no I-I can't I just, I'm not ready. Please" She pleaded, avoiding eye contact with any of them. Dawn's eyes filled with unshed tears at the obvious pain her sister was in.

"Buffy, we want to help, we need to talk about this before we lose you, please, I can't lose you again, I can't and I won't." she spoke quietly, her tears spilling over and flowing freely down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Dawn, but I can't"

"We heard you" Willow's voice was soft but firm.

"You what?"

"The other night, after the showdown with sweet, Buffy we heard you sing."

"No," Buffy shook her head, finally making eye contact with her friend. "I can't not yet, not him, it's too soon" Willow was shocked at the look of Buffy's face. None of them had noticed how much weight she had lost, her cheeks were hollow and her eyes had a haunted dead look to them, there were tears in her eyes which she seemed to be struggling to contain, but looked like they'd been brewing for quite a while.

"Buffy" Willow whispered and stepped forward quickly pulling her friend into a tight embrace.

Buffy seemed to just collapse into her arms. She let her tears spill over in gut-wrenching sobs that were almost screams. Willow held her up, surprised at how little weight there was behind Buffy now. Usually she would have struggled to support her, but there was nothing now. And she was shocked at how thin she was underneath the layers of baggy clothes she'd taken to wearing. She looked back at her friends with shock written on her face.

"Xan, help me get her inside" she whispered not wanting to disturb her distressed friend. Xander obliged her and between the two of them they made it to the couch, with the others following closely. They sat in a circle with Buffy as the focus, the sobs still wracking her tiny body. Finally, after what seemed like hours she quietened down, and her sobs stopped, though there was still a constant stream of tears down her pale face.

She looked up at her friends, her family.

"You couldn't understand"

"Try us" Xander's voice was soft and inviting, and as he put a hand on her arm, this time she didn't flinch away. Instead she tried to smile slightly at him, though it came out as more of a grimace.

"It's hard, so hard to talk about it." She started, looking at each of their faces in turn, seeing identical expressions of hope on each face.

"Please try Buffy, we're here we want to help."

"I know Giles, I just, It's a lot to handle that's – that's why I haven't. I haven't dealt with it because I can't. I'm not strong enough. It's – well – it's difficult, but I'll try. See it all started when I died. I thought, just like you all did, that I was gonna end up in some sort of hell. When I first 'woke up' and it wasn't hell, it was" she paused trying to find the right words "it was nice, peaceful, soft, nice. And then the most beautiful person I have ever met came up to me. He was," she sighed "he was like no-one I've known, kind, gentle, loving, and more than a little crazy. He helped me adjust, and we found something in common. We'd both died to save family. Though he didn't tell me who. We comforted each other in our grief for our friends and family, I helped him and he helped me. From that first moment, we never left each other, from the first moment I saw him, I loved him. He was what I always thought I'd never find. My other half. My soul mate. It was more perfect, more true than anything I've ever known. And I knew he wouldn't leave me like the rest, because where would he go? And why? I told him all about me, he knew everything, there was no need for secrecy anymore after all. So, everything I've done everything that's happened to me he knows, and he gave me what I've needed all these years, Love, Support, A shoulder to lean on and above all, forgiveness. And- And, it just, it was perfect, until" she took a deep breath, she was shaking now, feeling the effect of all the emotion she'd been bottling up since they'd bought her back. "Until I was ripped away, I'll never forget it. One moment I was in his arms, we were just talking, and suddenly I felt really strange, it was like, in my stomach, a tugging, then it got stronger and I called out," she was almost sobbing again at this point, and looking down at her shaking hands, "But before he could answer me with whatever he would have said, I could feel myself fading, being pulled away by my stomach, and the next thing I knew, I was in that coffin, gasping for breath, and it was so dark, and quiet, and I didn't know what had happened, and, and," she looked up now, her eyes wide "I was so scared, and I had to dig my way out, then everything was so bright, so loud. While I was in heaven, it was all different somehow, sort of muted. Then here, everything hurt, and, and" She broke down, finally unable to control herself anymore. "It hurt so much, and it still does, I've lost him, and it hurts and I need him, it's not right and I shouldn't be here and I need him now" She garbled in between sobs.

Her friends and family looked at each other, horrified. They'd done this to her, and now they had to fix it.

"B-Buffy, who was 'he'?" Tara asked gently.

"Hi-his name was S-Sirius, Sirius Black."


	3. Plans, and a change of heart?

* * *

A/N : Hi all, sorry this has taken so long, but a hectic schedule and some severe writers block haven't really conspired to be the best writing partners. I hope some of you are still interested in this, and I hope not to keep you waiting too long for the next instalment.

Thanks to all the people who reviewed so far, it means a lot.

* * *

"Sirius Black?" Tara repeated unsure whether she'd heard right or not. Buffy nodded her tears drying up. The pain was still evident in her face, and every line of her body screamed her anguish and exhaustion to the occupants of the room. Tara though for a moment, sure she'd heard the name before but unable to remember where.

"Yes, Sirius, He, he was…… he _is_, my everything, but now… I've lost him. I've lost him, and now there's no chance. I mean, who knows if I'll ever get back there, and even if I do, when?"

"Buffy, you will get back there, where else would you go, after…." Giles trailed off, not wanting to think about Buffy dying for a third time.

"You don't know that though Giles, I mean, what if it's like a one time offer huh? A once in a lifetime trip, and if you screw it up like I have you don't get to go back?"

"That can't be the case, at all,"

"How do you know that though Giles? How?" Giles looked at the floor.

"I don't" He was forced to admit quietly.

"Look guys" Buffy was a lot calmer now, she'd regained the iron control she exacted over her emotions and all she wanted now was to get out of there, to patrol and take her anger out on unsuspecting demons. "Guys I've…… I've just gotta get outta here ok? I just need …… I've gotta be alone, I'll patrol" She told them, looking at Giles. She didn't give them much chance to object as she stood and walked straight out of the front door, letting it swing shut behind her.

They all looked at each other for a moment or two, all trying to take in the information they'd just been handed. Dawn burst into tears and fled the room. Giles sent a glare at Willow before briefly excusing himself and following the young teenager upstairs, leaving just Willow, Tara, Xander and Anya. Needless to say, the four would-be-rescuers felt even worse for what they'd done to Buffy. There was a gasp heard from Tara before she began to speak.

"Uh, Guys, I've uh I've just remembered something. I-I've heard that name before."

"Before? Where baby?" Willow looked at her girlfriend questioningly.

"A few years ago, I was in England with m–my family, and his name was on the news. I think, something about …… "Tara broke off to try and remember. A few seconds later something came into her mind.

"Something about having es-escaped from prison, highly dangerous I think."

"But if he's an escaped highly dangerous criminal, what's he doing in heaven?" Willow asked rhetorically.

"I don't know, I- guess, I guess he's not what he seems? Maybe he is – was innocent?"

"hmmm, maybe. Whatever it is, I think that without him, we can count on losing Buffy pretty soon. I mean, look at what happened tonight. What we've done, it's …… it's killing her inside."

"Yeah, but what can we do about it? How can we help her if she won't let us?"

"I think guys that the only thing we can do for her, is to bring this guy back too." Xander spoke softly.

The four of them looked at each other before nodding slowly. With Giles and Dawn still upstairs, and Buffy out on patrol for the night, they set to making plans.

* * *

Meanwhile, Buffy was out patrolling the graveyards of Sunnydale. So far she hadn't come across any slay-worthy beings but she was hoping. As she wandered through the cold dark night, weaving through the monuments she hummed her song under her breath absently.

"Slayer" She whipped around at the sound, instantly jumping into her fighting stance, stake in hand. She saw who'd spoken and relaxed, dropping her arm so her stake hung down at her side.

"Oh, it just You"

"Ahh, now pet, is that any way to speak about me?" Spike smirked at her

"What do you want Spike?" She asked, frustrated at the loss of her slay-toy.

"Just – I just, …… I wondered how you were ok?" Spike snapped at her, ashamed to admit he was worried about the slayer. But since Buffy had told him about being in heaven, he'd worried. Of course she hadn't told him about Sirius. He looked at her and noticed how puffy her eyes were, how red. She pulled her arms around her body tightly, uncomfortable suddenly under his intense gaze.

"Jesus Slayer, are you alright?" He asked, the concern evident in his voice.

"I'm fine, I just…. It's…… They……" She stumbled over her words. Just the thought of what she'd revealed to her friends caused the tears to spring forth again, and she sank to her knees in the middle of the graveyard.

"Buffy?" Spike hurriedly knelt beside her.

"They asked, about heaven… Spike…" She couldn't continue. He cupped her face in his hand, and drew her chin up to look at him.

"It's gonna be okay pet" he told her, letting his love for her shine through his eyes.

She looked straight into his deep blue eyes and let everything else melt away, her pain, anguish and exhaustion all melted into the background as she leant into him and they fell into a passionate kiss.

* * *

TBC... 


	4. the ritual cryptkeeper

A/N; Here you go chapter four, and a little bit longer, though not much. Sorry for the wait, please review. I wanted to make it longer, but I have to go to work now, and I wanted to get something up. I'll try to be uick with the next part, Luv, H

* * *

Buffy and Spike stayed in each others embrace for a long minute, both taking comfort in the feeling of being there. Spike was ecstatic at finally being able to claim his prize, and hold the slayer. Hell, he'd even kissed her. No, _she'd_ kissed _him!_ He grinned to himself over her shoulder. Buffy was relishing the feeling of being held again, being touched, though her mind was far away, she was imagining Sirius to be holding her, touching her, kissing her. Her eyes closed she sighed and buried her face into her love's shoulder, only to find the bare skin of his neck hard and cold, instead of the warm suppleness that used to greet her. She pushed her was out of his embrace to look at him, find what was wrong.

"Spike!" She exclaimed looking the vampire in the face, her disgust with herself evident on her face.

'Ohmigod. Ohmigod. Ohmigod. I. Kissed. SPIKE' she thought to herself over and over. She scooted back a few centimetres on the ground until her back came into contact with something cold and unyielding. She whipped her head round to glare at the offending gravestone before returning her gaze to Spike.

"What's the matter pet?" The vampire asked, confused at the sudden turn of events.

She pushed against the cold hard ground until she was standing, and gave Spike one final look, before turning and fleeing into the night.

"Slayer?" He called, standing to go after her when he heard movement in the background behind him.

"Oh bloody sodding hell" He exclaimed quietly to himself turning to face the noise and abandoning all thought of following Buffy into the night.

* * *

Back in the dining room at 1630 Revello, four friends were planning to once again accomplish the impossible. They'd hit the books, looking for another way to raise the dead, or at least find the location of another urn of Osiris. There was just one snag in their plan. They had absolutely no clue as to where the body of Sirius Black was. So that left out the ritual they'd used to return Buffy to them, especially seeing as how they were finding it very difficult to locate another urn. That meant they had to find another way of doing it. A way that didn't just bring the person back to life where the body was. Something to bring him back standing right in front of them, something that would make the transition easy.

Xander slammed his book shut

"Nothing" He sighed in frustration. "Absolutely Nothing. Will, are you sure there's another way? We didn't find anything before. What makes you so sure there even is anything else?"

The three women seated the table all looked up at him.

"There has to be something. Just because we haven't found it yet doesn't mean it isn't there" Willow spoke softly. Xander pushed himself away from the table and stood putting his hands behind his neck.

"I need a drink" He spoke more to himself than anything, then wondered into the kitchen to fetch one. The rest returned to searching through their books in the hope of finding something, anything. The quicker the better, before they lost Buffy to herself even more. In time Xander returned to the table with a tray of steaming drinks and they all took one smiling gratefully at their friend before continuing their research. Giles and Dawn had not come back downstairs, and they assumed they'd both gone to sleep, as it was getting quite late. Every few minutes one of the four would quickly glance up at the clock, wondering where Buffy was and why she was patrolling so late. The clock hit 3, 4 then 5 o'clock and still Buffy didn't return. They'd taken to casting worried glances between themselves now, but no one voiced their worry.

* * *

Buffy, meanwhile had run off after her shock at kissing Spike, and promptly run across a nest of about fourteen vampires which she dealt with effectively and soon she was stood in a crypt with dust settling around her. She dropped to her knees on the stone floor, her emotion and exhaustion catching up with her. The tears found their way to the front of her eyes quite readily and were soon over spilling freely and hitting of the floor as she sobbed. She sank even further down till she was lying in a foetal position on the hard stone floor in the middle of the crypt, vampire dust clinging to her clothes, skin and hair, and coffins surrounding her. She cried until she could cry no more and fell into a deep, if disturbed sleep. She dreamt horrible dreams, of being ripped away from Sirius, of being in a strange place, standing outside an enormous castle with Sirius by her side, and a battle waging all around them, of Sirius falling to the ground, through a veil, Horrible, horrible things flooded her sleep.

* * *

Back at Revello drive saw the clock hit 6.30 and the sun started its ascent in the morning sky. Two young women and a man sprawled across a table covered in books, fast asleep. Willow the only one still searching through the books. She'd come close to thinking she'd found something a few times, but on closer investigation it had proved to be unsuitable, which was why she approached her latest discovery with scepticism. She followed the idea through, and looked at it from every possible angle. She could find no fault, absolutely nothing wrong with this way of doing things. It would bring a perfectly healthy, living, zombie free person back to life in the centre of a circle that the caster determined.

"Oh goddess" She whispered "This is it!" She exclaimed excitedly a little louder, causing the others to stir, and wake up.

"Will, sweetie, what is it?" Tara asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"I've found it, I've really found it" She told them all excitedly. This brought them to full awareness quickly, and they listened closely as Willow animatedly described in detail, the ritual she'd found.

* * *

Buffy woke with a scream. She sat bolt upright quickly, noticing the cold that had chilled her down to the bon. She took in her surroundings.

"Trust me to fall asleep in a crypt" she muttered to herself. She stood up and attempted to straighten herself out a little, before giving it up as a bad joke. Her clothes were irreparably creased and filthy and since she had no mirror she could only guess at the state of her hair and skin. She sighed to herself and decided to worry about it later. She had no watch and therefore no idea of the time, only knew that the sun was half risen, which meant she'd been out all night, and everyone was probably worried sick. She tried not to think of Spike and the kiss they'd shared the previous night. She shook her head at the memories that came unbidden to her mind. Then she headed out of the crypt and towards home, trying to ignore the attention she was drawing to herself due to her appearance.


	5. Dawn's Theory

A/N; Chapter 5, ummmm, oops. I had hoped to make this out sooner, but I've had some awful writers block, and a few other plot bunnies that just refused to leave me alone, until I even started dreaming them Arrrgh!. So, I've had to plan them out and even start writing. But I'm not gonna post them until they're nearly finished. Add to that the fact that I'm very very lazy. So um yeah, here goes, sorry it took me so long.

Oh yeah, and just to let you know that Anya will most likely be very ooc because I can't write Anya at all.

* * *

Buffy stumbled through her front door as the sun finished its ascent into the morning sky, and just as her friends finished packing their research party away.

"Buffy!" Willow exclaimed, relieved to see her friend after her all night patrol. "God, where've you been?"

"Um, I was.. I've been on patrol." She coughed attempting to clear her throat.

"You look awful Buff" Xander commented, taking in her appearance, the creased and crumpled clothing, dust and something else in her wild, unruly hair, and the smudges of dirt on her face and hands.

"Thanks Xan." She murmured tiredly. "Well, I'm pretty beat, so I'm gonna go… sleep" She pointed at the stairs and nodded to her friends, then headed upstairs. As she headed up Dawn appeared at the top of the stairs, as equally dishevelled as Buffy herself.

"Buffy?" Dawn spoke clearly. The teenager's face was blotchy, and her eyes were red-rimmed.

"Dawnie" Buffy sighed "I'm – I gotta sleep" With that she glanced apologetically at her sister, and moved past her and swept into her bedroom, the door clicking softly shut behind her. Dawn seemed to sink in on herself a little, and headed down the stairs. She pushed her way through the foursome at the bottom without saying a word, and moved silently into the kitchen. She assembled herself a bowl of cereal and took it through to the den where she curled up in a cushiony armchair and proceeded to devour it.

"Mornin' Dawnie"

The teenager ignored Willow's cheerful comment and kept on munching her cereal.

"Dawnie, you're angry, we understand but…"

"No Shit Sherlock" Murmured Dawn and she flicked the TV on.

"Dawn, I think we need to talk about this." Willow waved her hand and the television flickered off. Dawn's only answer was to turn it back on, to which Willow simply waved it off again.

"Fine, you know what. You want to talk, then go ahead and talk. Tell me why you did what you did and didn't even think to ask her where she'd been when she came back."

"Dawn, you know we needed her here, you needed her here"

"Yes, but not, not like this" She sighed with frustration. Yes _of course_ she was glad to have her sister back, but not like this. Not this unhappy, and with this weight on her mind.

"Dawn, we thought, we all thought Buffy'd been hell. You know that. We just couldn't leave her there. Not after what she's done for all of us." Xander tried getting through to the upset teen.

"You didn't think to check?" Dawn spat at the brown haired mad.

"We Couldn't Dawnie" Tara replied quietly.

"Couldn't, or wouldn't" Dawn asked quietly, looking directly at Willow. The red head looked away from Dawn, dropping her face to the floor. The rest of the people in the room looked briefly at Willow too.

"You could have, couldn't you Willow. You could have looked in on her, found out where she was, what it was like, but you just didn't. And now look at what's happened."

"You don't understand Dawnie." Willow pleaded, then sighed, continuing quieter "Yes, I did find a spell…"

"You see!" Exclaimed Dawn, pointing at Willow "You could've checked before you went and yanked her back!"

"W-willow?" Tara stuttered, confused over her lovers actions in hiding this from them.

"You have to understand Dawn, this was really complex magic, and from what we had to go on…"

"And raising the dead isn't complex?" asked Dawn, fuming. Willow took a step toward her, reaching out a hand to touch the girls shoulder. Dawn shook it away.

"You were just being Selfish, You wanted her back for _YOU!_ No other reason.. Yes I wanted her back too. But not this way. Never this way." Tears started leaking out of Dawns eyes. She stood and took her cereal bowl through to the kitchen and headed back upstairs, and shutting herself into the bathroom.

"Willow?" Tara asked again, stutter free. "You never told us?"

"I – I- Uh" Willow was lost for words,

"She was right." Xander said confidently. "Dawn. She was right. You were being selfish." Tara and Anya looked at him horrified. Willow looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "We all were" Xander continued. "We didn't check that she was in some hell dimension because we wanted it to be true. We all wanted her back, so we didn't think that there might be an alternative. That she might be somewhere she was happy. We were just Selfish." He finished with a sigh. Anya put an arm around his waist.

"Well of course we were. It's a natural human response isn't it? To want a dead loved one back? Dawn would have done the same." She stated. They fell into silence, thinking about Buffy and her heaven, her Sirius.

When Giles came down a short while later he found them spread out in different areas of the living room. Each locked in their own thoughts. He didn't say a word to any of them, but left the house immediately after writing a brief note for Buffy and Dawn.

"Guys" Willows voice was quiet and small. "Do you still think we should do this?"

There was no doubt in any of their mids what Willow was referring to.

"I don't know Wills, I really don't know" Xander replied tiredly. "But we'd better think long and hard. And if we do, do this, well we'd better do it soon."

They nodded at him and fell back to their thoughts. A while later their silence was disturbed again, this time by Anya.

"I think we should. I mean, Buffy's already told us she needs him, and even though he's in heaven, if him and Buffy are as close as she says then, he'll be happy here with her. Won't he?"

"I guess, but Ahn? What if he's not? It would only hurt both of them. And I don't think Buffy need any more hurt than she's already got right now." Xander told his fiancé.

"I think we should do the spell" Willow told them quietly. They all took a few seconds to realise which spell she was talking about.

"Where should we do it?" Tara asked when she realised which spell. Willow nodded towards Xander and Anya.

"Your apartment. Today"

"Well lets get going then. Do you need anything…." Xander trailed off, wondering where they'd get the things needed for the spell if the girls hadn't got anything. They couldn't get them from the magic box, because Giles would know something was going on.

"Yeah, We've got it all. Give me a minute and I'll have it all." Willow stood and left the room. Within fifteen minutes she was back carrying a brown paper bag filled with various items.

"Come on then." She said to her waiting friends. They stood collectively and headed out to Xander's car.


	6. A step in any direction

A/N: Hi guys, next instalment. Hope you like it, and please review, It keeps me smiling. lol

* * *

Xander pulled up outside his and Anya's apartment building, and the group got out of the car sombrely. They entered the building and found their way into the apartment in silence, much like they'd spent the entire ride over.

"Will, where d'you wanna – you know – set up?" Xander spoke quietly, startling the red-headed witch slightly when he broke the silence.

"Oh, uhm, I need a fairly large space so, um, the living room should be fine."

"Ok, do you need us to do anything?"

"Yeah, could you take a candle each and sit in a circle around me once I'm ready. I've just gotta mix a few herbs together, and we'll be set." Willow handed them a large white church candle each out of the large beg she'd bought with her. "I'll be back in a minute" She told Xander and Anya, "Tara, a little help?" Her blonde companion nodded and followed her from the room. Xander and Anya started moving the furniture a bit to create some space for the ritual.

* * *

Willow and Tara were stood in Xander's kitchen preparing the herbs. Tara stopped and looked up at Willow.

"Are we really going to do this?" She asked, apprehension evident in her voice. Willow nodded.

"I think we have to Tara, for Buffy." She paused and sighed. "But I can incorporate the other spell into it. Y'know, so I can check in on him first then bring him back, all at once. All it needs is a little alteration with the herbs and it's done."

Tara remained silent. Willow waited a beat then turned back to her work, they continued in silence.

* * *

Twenty minutes later the group of four sat in the living room, Willow in the centre, Xander, Tara and Anya sat around her in a large triangle, each of them holding theirs lit candles with heads bowed.

Willow reached into the white ceramic bowl in front of her and lifted a handful of dust out. She lifted it above her head and sprinkled on the ground in front of her.

"I make my plea to gods above, to gods below.

Take me past, to worlds unknown.

Let me see the one I seek, to guide him back, to return to life.

I beg submission for my plea,

Take me now, show me he."

With her final words Willow slumped forward and the room was plunged into darkness as an unfelt wind blew out the candles the group were holding. There was a collective gasp as the three friends adjusted to the darkness and saw their friend lying in a pool in front of them. Her prone body started shaking and twitching.

"Hold the circle" Tara stated quietly. "Whatever we see, we must hold the circle, or we might lose her wherever she is." The fear was evident in her voice, and as she watched her lover shivering and contorting, a lone tear made its way down her face. "Willow" she whispered. Fear shone on Xander and Anya's faces also, though Anya was the calmest of the three.

"Is this supposed to happen?" She whispered quietly. Tara only nodded. All they could do was wait for her to come back on her own.

* * *

Willow meanwhile was searching, screaming a name, over and over. When everything had gone dark, she'd been more than a little shocked, particularly when it had stayed that way. She could barely remember the importance of the words she was calling, but nonetheless it seemed like she'd been shouting them for eternity. So she continued.

"Sirius Black. Sirius Black. Sirius Black" Suddenly she felt two hands grasp her shoulders from behind, and the darkness faded out only to be replaced by a gentle light. She couldn't detect the source but it appeared as if there was a lone, unseen candle burning between her and the stranger that now stood in front of her. The light extended only as far as the two stood apart, and beyond its reaches, the darkness seemed to call to her. She looked at the face of the person who'd pulled her from the dark, studying him, taking in his appearance. His hair was dark and longish, though it didn't reach his shoulders, and he looked to be in his early thirties. His face was clean shaven, but he looked worn, saddened somehow. When she looked into his eyes they were dark pools that drew her in. She could lose herself in them, she thought.

"You were lost" His voice startled her out of her reverie, sounding so loud to her ears she thought her eardrums may burst. How long had it been since she'd heard a sound other than her own calls? It dawned on her suddenly the relevance of the words she'd been calling.

"Sirius Black?" She asked, uncertainly.

"Indeed." He said with a slight smile. "And you are?"

"Willow, Willow Rosenberg." She stated, somewhat nervously.

"And you were calling my name because…?" He asked, but continued before she could answer. "I don't know you. And if I'm not mistaken, you are quite alive. So, if you'll pardon me asking, Why the visit."

"Um, not quite a visit, you see. I'm here for something else. For someone else. I want to take you back with me. That is if you want to come. I want to make you alive again. But only if you want." She broke of, unsure of where to go next.

"And why would I want that? Why would you do that? You don't even know me, why would you care?" He was genuinely curious. She responded with two little words.

"For Buffy" With those words his whole demeanour changed. The small smile fell from his face and he sunk to his knees in front of her, as he repeated her words. He looked up at her.

"You know Buffy?" He asked in a small voice. She nodded. "You can give me my Buffy back?" She hesitated.

"Well," She began after a beat or two. "Not give you her back. Because that would mean she'd be dead again and we don't want that. More like give her you back. You see, ever since I bought her back she's been…" He cut her off. The look on his face now held only anger.

"You. You took her from me, you pulled her back?" Willow only nodded. Suddenly scared of this large man, who seemed very angry now. Angry at her.

"I, we, I had to." She cried. "We needed her. Her sister needed her. I'm sorry. But I'm trying to fix it. To make it right." He nodded, some of the anger leaving his face.

"I suppose I can understand that. But…" He trailed off. Then sighed. "She took my heaven with her when she left. I'd been in that dark for so long, and when she came, she brought me light. She made this place beautiful. And then when you took her back, it left with her." He stopped and looked away, the silence seemed to last an eternity. "Do it." He said, now looking directly at Willow. He stood again and seemed to tower over willows tiny frame. "I want to go back. To her. What do I have to do?"

She grinned at him.

"You just have to take my hand." She said, filled with happiness that it had worked. Maybe now Buffy could be happy. Maybe she'd get back to normal. Sirius nodded at her and stepped forward. He reached out and grabbed hold of her hand, and they both felt the tugging at their stomachs. It reminded Sirius very much of the feeling that came with a portkey.

* * *

Xander, Tara and Anya were still waiting, and were getting more and more anxious by the second. It had been about thirty minutes since the room went dark, and although Willow had long since stopped convulsing, the stillness that had fallen over them was unnerving. Especially since they couldn't even make out her chest movement, to indicate she was still breathing. But Tara had to keep reminding them all to hold still, hold the circle, even though she was torn with fear herself. Without warning, the room went unnaturally dark, so much so that they couldn't make out a thing; it was as if they'd all been blinded. Then the candles sprang to life again, but in the centre of their circle, there was no longer one person, but two, their red headed friend was clasping tightly to the hand of a tall dark-haired man. And they were both just coming to.

Tara gasped first and immediately broke the circle with the first flutter of Willow's eyelashes. She was at her lover's side in an instant.

"Willow, Willow honey wake up. Can you hear me?"

"Mmmnghh" Willow murmured and lifted a hand to her head. Her eyes slowly opened and she looked into Tara's face.

"Did it work?" she asked anxiously. Tara smiled.

"Yeah, it did." She looked over to where Xander and Anya were helping their new arrival sit up, and Willow followed her gaze. She looked right into Sirius's eyes and smiled. He smiled back at her.

"It worked. We did it." She exclaimed happily.

"Whoa whoa, Will." Xander put a hand up to halt her before she slipped into Willow babble. "I thought you were only going to check in on him. Not pull him straight back. I thought we were gonna talk about this first." Xander was confused as to why this guy was now sitting in the middle of his living room, grinning like a mad man. Then he spoke.

"I wanted her to bring me back straight away." Sirius told them in a deep, gravel-ly voice. His throat was hoarse after being unused for so long.

"He's British. You're British?" Xander asked bewildered slightly by the course of events. Sirius nodded, one hand rubbing his throat. Xander fell quiet, unsure what to say next. They all were.

"Can you," Sirius paused. "I want to see Buffy." He directed at Willow. "Take me?"


	7. What a mistake to make

A/N Hi guys, not too long a wait this time I hope. Sorry that its so short, I think its actually my shortest chappy yet, but it was just a good place to leave it, and the characters didn't want to play anymore. So…. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, they brighten my day,

* * *

While her friends had been performing the ritual without her knowledge, Buffy had been sat in her room upstairs, alone. She couldn't have slept any more, there were too many thoughts rolling around in her head. She'd heard Dawn finally exit the bathroom and listen at her door for a while, before eventually getting dressed and leaving the house.

Now she was completely alone, Buffy stepped into the shower, and started washing the dirt from her nights rest away. As the hot water rolled over her, she thought back to last night, again. She couldn't believe she'd kissed Spike, _Spike_ of all people. She just been so wrapped up in her thoughts, and so upset, that she'd, just for a second, forgotten everything, all about the slayer, heaven, vampires the lot. She'd thought about Sirius and imagined it was his arms she was in, and it had just happened, and when she'd realized, god, she couldn't get away fast enough. She shook her head, partly to try and clear her thoughts and partly to rid the shampoo from her eyes. She ran her hands through her hair to detangle it and stepped out of the shower. She waited a few seconds to try and detect any movement, before hurrying across the hall to her room.

She dried and dressed quickly, then dried her hair, till it fell in a golden shower down her back. She walked downstairs, with the intention of leaving the house again before anyone returned, but as she reached the front door, it burst open, and a blanket covered figure rushed in.

"Bloody Hell Slayer" Spike cursed as he slammed the door behind him and threw the blanket to the ground.

"Spike" She muttered shaking her head solemnly. "What are you doing here?"

"I came, I came to check on you, is all." The vampire said quietly, he took a step towards her and placed a hand on her arm, She looked up at him, shocked. "You took off so quickly last night, and looked so upset, that… I was worried" he told her by way of explanation.

She nodded at him, then looked away.

"I'm fine, Spike," She told him curtly, "and last night, last night I was just upset, I wasn't thinking straight. Don't think it'll happen again." She told him indignantly, referring to the kiss they'd shared.

He looked hurt for a fraction of a second, before his usual smirk washed over his features.

"Getting to be a bit of a habit with you isn't it pet?" He asked her. At her confused look he continued. "Kissing Vampires. Shouldn't be calling you the vampire slayer anymore should we. Maybe Vampire Layer instead." He sneered at her, then a second later he was on the floor, not having seen her fist fly until it was too late. As she reached for the door handle he grabbed hold of her leg.

"Wait pet, I didn't mean that, C'mon, just give us a go?" He asked hopefully.

"And why should I do that Spike?" She asked him. "You're obnoxious and rude and evil and, and, a vampire for Christ's sake."

"That didn't stop you and peaches did it though?" He asked her. She shook her head in disgust.

"Not in a million years Spike." She told him, and made to walk out the front door. He kept his hold on her leg, and tightened his grip.

"Normal man'll never be enough for you Buffy, you need some beast in your man" She shook her leg trying to free it from his grasp. He pulled hard and she toppled to the ground, he released her ankle and scooped her into his arms with lightning speed.

"You know you need me pet" he whispered to her, before leaning into her and claiming her lips. He kissed her fervently, and at first she struggled, as her mind fought the idea again. But her body gave in to the feelings he evoked in her, and she started to return his kiss. Her mind conjured up images of Sirius, fooled her with distorted memories into thinking she had her Sirius back, and it was he who she kissed. His hands ceased to hold her in place, and hers entangled themselves in his hair.

Behind her she vaguely heard the forgotten door open slowly, and her name being cried out. She broke the kiss at one sound, her name, whispered ever so quietly in a voice she thought she'd never hear again.

"Sirius" She breathed onto Spikes still parted lips. She moved backward and stood in one fluid motion. Turning she caught sight of the person she'd been pining for, her lover. "Oh god, _Sirius_" The man in question turned fluidly and walked straight back out the door, pushing past her shocked friends.


	8. An explanation in order

A/N: Another short one I'm afraid, but I had to end it where I did. Merry Christmas to all of you,

* * *

"Sirius!" she called, rushing out onto the porch, shoving a shell-shocked Willow out the path. "SIRIUS"

He kept going, kept moving, his head spinning. 'how could she just be kissing someone else, how could she just forget me that easily.' He kept thinking over and over to himself. He heard her calling to him, knew she was running after him, but he kept going.

She followed him, still calling, though he was giving no indication that he heard her. Tears fell fluidly from her eyes, blurring her vision as she ran, stumbling after the man who'd just been returned to her, the man she'd just crushed in an instant.

Finally he stopped. Stopped dead and Buffy came to a stumbling stop a few paces behind him. He turned to face her, and she saw the moisture on his cheeks, the only evidence of the few tears he'd shed as he fled.

"Sirius" she choked out quietly, holding back the sobs that threatened to engulf her.

"Buffy" He stated coldly. "What do you want?"

"I- I, _how_..?" She was stunned with his return, she'd expected never to see him again, yet here he was standing in front of her, and he'd been greeted by the most awful sight.

"Not the point right now, is it?" He asked in the same tone. Buffy shivered, feeling the ice in his voice. She wrapped her hands around her arms, trying to warm them. She shook her head in answer.

"Did you forget me that quickly?" He asked, with genuine curiosity. She shook her head vigorously, fresh tears falling. "Did I mean that little to you?"

"NO, Sirius, I – I've been so lost since I lost you, since they pulled me out, I couldn't, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't breathe without you." Her voice was pleading and bordered on whining, and she hated herself for it.

"You certainly seemed to be doing fine."

"It wasn't like that Siri, honest."

"It certainly seemed that way from where I stood. What, he was giving you mouth to mouth?"

"He – I – he… It's hard, I thought, I thought he was you"

"Cut the crap Buffy, He looked nothing like me."

"I know, I didn't meant it like that, but, its just, they all found out, and I couldn't take it so I left and he found me and I was so lost that when he kissed me, I thought I'd found you again, I got all these feelings back and I …" It all came out in one breath, and she took a deep gulp of air.

"You're not making any sense." She had just totally confused him with her answer and it showed on his face.

"My friends, they thought I'd been in hell when they bought me back, they didn't know until, until I sang it to them,

"_Sang_ it to them?"

"Long story. But then they asked me about you, and I had to tell them, and they didn't seem to understand how much I was hurting, they kept pushing, and so I left, and met, met spike and he asked what was wrong and I lost it, all I could think about was you, and then he kissed me, and I thought I'd got you back, thought you were kissing me, like I've prayed for every day since I came back. And then it wasn't you it was him, and I ran, but today, he found me again, and he thought I'd meant to kiss him, and tried it again, and then you were there and I don't know how."

"Willow" he said, very quietly.

"Willow?"

"She came to me, found me in the dark. When you left you took all the light with you, it was so dark, then I heard her shout, and she found me, and bought a little light with her. She asked me If I'd come back with her, if I'd come back to you, and I said yes. I'd have done anything to find you again, but when I did, you were kissing someone else. Do you have any idea what that felt like?" He stepped towards her, his face and posture softening.

"We were both lost, weren't we. Lost without each other. And now I've found you." He took another step, and pulled her into his arms. She collapsed against him and let loose the sobs that had been threatening to escape since she first heard his voice. He brought a hand up to cup her face and lifted her chin so she was looking at him.

"I touch the fire and it froze me,

I looked into it, it was black,

It was so real,

Now I can feel

My head swirls and wheels

I've got my fire back" She sang quietly. He leaned in to her, and their lips met in the gentlest of kisses.


	9. There are Things

A/N: I know its absolutely ridiculously short, but, I couldn't think where else to go at the moment, and I wanted to get something out. Sorry for the shortness and the wait. But here's something.

* * *

Sirius quickly pulled back.

"It's still not ok, what you did. But I guess I can understand. And I want…" He trailed off, unsure of how to say it. Unsure of what it would mean, to both of them.

"I want to. I want very much." Buffy told him quickly, a pleading note in her voice.

Sirius looked away from her briefly. He sighed.

"I know." He looked back to her face. "I – it's complicated now Buffy. We're not in heaven anymore. This isn't going to be simple. By any means."

"No No I know it isn't. But I really want to try." She held on to his arms, as if she was afraid he'd leave.

"There are things you need to hear before you make that decision." His voice was firm, and she could tell by his face that he was serious.

"Then tell me" she begged him "tell me."

"Not here, anyone could be… and you might need to sit down." Now he didn't seem to be making much sense. "Back at the house, yeah, the house. No one there would…"

"Siri?" Buffy was completely lost and confused now, "What are you talking about?" she was beginning to get a bit worried. He had a really strange haunted expression on his face suddenly, and now he looked as if he'd just remembered something. His dark eyes lit up suddenly.

"Har" he whispered. Then he refocused on Buffy.

"There's something I need to tell you Buffy, something big. Huge. And it might change the way you feel about me. I don't know."

"Nothing would change that, Siri, nothing" She smiled up at him, "Unless you tell me you're actually a mad axe murderer or something!" she joked. A haunted look passed over his face fleetingly, before he schooled his features into an unreadable mask.

"We have to go back. I can't tell you here. Your house is safe. We need to go there." His voice had changed, it sounded far away, distant now, and Buffy was really starting to get worried.

"Okay, lets go." She took his hand, and noticed their surroundings for the first time. They were stood in the same cemetery she'd first kissed spike in. The daylight shone a new angle on it. The gravestones almost looked welcoming and restful in the light. They actually looked like they were meant to, fond reminders of those lost to the world forever. She shook her head to rid herself of thoughts of Spike, who would undoubtedly still be inside her house, owing to the bright sunlight that had risen.

"C'mon" She beckoned Sirius as she led him through the gravestones towards her home.


	10. a Tail to tell

Hi all, I know its been forever, and I'm sorry, so I'm not gonna say anything else, but I am gonna carry on with the story now, so here you go…

They reached 1630 Revello in almost record time, Buffy having practically dragged Sirius home, so impatient was she to know his secret. She slammed open the door and yanked him across the threshold.

"Okay. We're here. What's wrong?" She barked.

Sirius didn't say a word, but shot her a pleading look, and gently tugged on her hand. Buffy sighed, knowing what he was getting at and led him deeper into the house, clicking the door shut behind them. They trekked upstairs and quietly entered Buffy's bedroom. Sirius took a quick look around and the gently led Buffy to the bed, pushing her down onto it.

"I'm not exactly who you think I am Buffy." He spoke so quietly, she barely heard him. "Not what you think I am." He looked away from her, as if he didn't know how to say what came next.

"What do you mean?" Buffy was confused, what was he trying to tell her?

"I'm a… Buffy, I'm a wizard." He spoke the last part quickly, unsure how she'd take it.

"A what now?" she hadn't quite heard it. Then what he'd said sank in. "Oh, okay, like Wicca and stuff, right?" She nodded, somewhat relieved that that was all he had to tell her.

His head snapped back to look her in the eyes.

"Huh? No. Not quite, and wait, you believe in magic?" He was completely taken aback by her reaction.

"Yeah, Willow's a Wicca. Didn't you wonder how she'd bought us both back? And if you're not a Wiccan, how are you a wizard?" Buffy was thoroughly confused again. Her eyes searched his face for an answer, but so far had found none. Sirius, for his part, was still a bit shocked from her reaction to magic. After a couple of minutes he spoke again.

"I'm a wand-wizard Buffy." He explained. "With Wicca, the magic is drawn from the natural world around you, almost anyone can do some Wiccan magic if they study enough, but with Wand-Witches and Wizards, the magic's already inside us, and we use wands to channel it into spells. It's just a different type of magic." He stopped, waiting for her reaction to that news. Buffy nodded slowly, digesting this new information.

"That's not all." He spoke again, after letting his first bit of news sink in. "I'm also an escaped convict in British wizarding society, and actually, Britain itself." He paused, and Buffy's eyes snapped to his, worried. "But, I'm not guilty, honestly Buffy. I'm innocent." He looked really worried now; Buffy hadn't yet said a word. She just sat there, staring at him, an unreadable expression on her face. Sirius made to stand up, but Buffy's hand grasped hold of his arm, lightening quick. Her grip was so tight it was painful.

"Wait. Explain." She spoke quietly, her eyes never moving and her expression unchanged. Sirius had no idea how she felt about his little bombshell. He settled himself back down next to her small frame and began to tell her the whole, horrible story.

"When I was young, I went to a wizarding school in Scotland. Hogwarts. It was amazing, and I had a really great group of friends, the marauders. There was me, James, Remus, Peter, and James' girlfriend, Lily." He paused again; his voice was filled with pain when he continued.

"We were young and naive, and thought we'd always be friends. We even learned how to transform into animals together. But there were problems in the wizarding world. A dark wizard called Voldemort was killing witches and wizards who'd been born of muggles – that's non-magic people. And Lily was muggleborn. When we left school, we all tried to fight Voldemort in our own way. We were all members of the order of the phoenix, a group of people who wanted to stop him.

James and Lily were married and had a son, Harry, and we got news that Voldemort was going after them, because of some sort of prophecy about Harry. They decided to go into hiding using an old spell. One that needs a secret keeper to be the only one who knows. They chose me. I was James' best friend after all. The obvious choice.

The obvious choice, everyone would guess I'd be Lily and James' secret keeper, so I persuaded them to choose again, someone a little less obvious. Peter Pettigrew, our friend.

We had a spy in the order. No-one had known. We'd suspected of course, but not known.

That Halloween, Voldemort found Lily and James. Their house was found half destroyed. Their bodies strewn about like garbage." He broke off, as a single tear spilled from his glistening eyes. When he continued anger joined the pain in his voice.

"It was Peter. He was the spy. I went looking for him. I was ready to kill him for his betrayal. But he found me first. He set me up. Started shouting how could I? And then he started blasting the Muggle Street apart. He cut of his finger, then transformed into his animal form, a rat. He disappeared. And I was arrested for his murder, and Lily and James', and the muggles. I escaped to find him. He was at Hogwarts, with Harry. My Godson. I needed to find him, prove I was innocent. I wanted to take Harry away, he's been mistreated by the relatives he's been living with all his life. I was killed protecting him from Voldemort, and I have no idea if he's still alive. God I hope he is. I have to find him Buffy. And I want you to come. But I understand if you can't. If this is too big for you to cope with. God, it's too big for me, and I lived it." He broke off, looking hopefully into her eyes.

She leant back, and let the whole, sorry story sink in. Just as Sirius was about to give up hope, and leave, she leapt at him. Enveloping him in her arms she held him tightly.

"oh god. Oh god." She whispered. She broke the hug, scooting backwards. "I'm coming with you." She spoke firmly. Forcefully. She stood up, pulling him with her.

"Are you sure? Its dangerous." He reminded her, "Voldemort, and don't forget, they think I'm a criminal still."

"But I'm not am I?" she asked him. "No-one will take any notice of little me, until I find voldie and go all slayer on his ass!" she laughed.

"Slayer?" Sirius asked, shocked. "_THE_ Slayer?" Buffy turned on her heel.

"Yes, heard of me?" She giggled. Sirius nodded dumbly.

"in school. We learned about you. You're a myth."

"I can assure you, Pretty real here" she told him, grinning. "Or I am now, at least." She laughed.

He pulled her close again.

"If you're sure about this." He whispered into her ear, "We'd better go and tell your friends and sister that we're leaving.

Buffy sobered, and nodded up at him.

"Oh boy, are they gonna be happy with me."


	11. An Intro and an exit

Sat in the den, there was an air of nervous apprehension. The tension in the air was thick, and Buffy and Sirius were lost in their own thoughts, not looking at each other. Once Buffy's decision had been made, Sirius had told her more about his wizarding heritage.

Suddenly the doorbell rang, cutting through the silence, and Buffy and Sirius looked at one another expectantly, nervously. Once Buffy had decided she would follow Sirius, they'd called Willow and asked her to bring the others over. They had to know about this decision.

Buffy slowly rose to her feet and shuffled to the door. When it opened, she saw the faces of her family, Dawn, Willow, Xander, Tara, Anya and Giles. Their faces made what she was about to tell them all the harder.

She stood back to let them in, but at the haunted look on her face, they could tell something was wrong. Dawn hesitated.

"Buffy?" she asked quietly, not moving. Buffy didn't speak, simply shook her head and motioned them all inside. They filed in, curious as to what could be wrong with their friend, after all, hadn't they just given her her love back? Or had things gone wrong after what happened with Spike? Giles and Dawn however, had no idea as to Sirius Black having been returned from the dead, and assumed Buffy was still upset over the previous night.

Once they entered, Buffy led them though to the Den, and Sat next to Sirius. Dawn's and Giles' eyes went straight to the stranger in the room. Buffy picked up on that and set to introducing her lover.

"Dawnie, Giles," she began, her voice a mere whisper. She cleared her throat. "This is Sirius Black."

Realisation dawned quickly on their faces.

"But …" Giles words died on his lips. His eyes shot to connect with Willow's. She met his gaze for a second, and then dropped her eyes. "Again, Willow. Did you learn nothing? After what you've put Buffy through, and now this?" He broke off, the anger evident in his voice. He looked back to Buffy.

"It's not like that this time Giles; He wanted to come back, back to Buffy. Ask him." Willow stated her case, eager for the watcher to not look on her in disappointment anymore.

"It's true" Sirius spoke for the first time, forcefully. "I asked her to bring me back. I have things I need to finish."

"Which is kinda why you're here guys." Buffy broke the argument before it could start. Now she'd made her decision, she had to tell them. They had to know.

"I've made a decision. And you aren't going to like it." She started. Sirius looked at her supportively, knowing that this conversation would be hard on her, and picked up her hand. While they'd been in heaven she'd spoken of her family, and how much they'd meant to her, and how she missed them. As much as it had hurt her to be pulled out of heaven, it would hurt her to leave them again, after she'd just come back to them. It would hurt them too. But he was glad she was coming with him. He needed her. She looked at him, grateful for his support.

"I'm leaving for a while." She saw the looks on her family's faces and put up a hand to stop them. "I know what you're all going to say, but I need to have some space from this place. It's killed me twice now, and things haven't felt the same since I came back. I have made some mistakes, but I've been hurting, and I need to go. Sirius has family in England, and he has a whole bunch of problems over there to sort out. And I'm going with him. He's a wizard, a wand wizard." She took a breath. Giles looked as if something she'd said had registered a memory within him, as did Tara. Everyone else looked confused and angry. Buffy continued.

"There's been something bad going on over there," she started, and proceeded to tell them the whole tale of Voldemort, the order of the Phoenix, and Harry.

"I think they could do with a Slayer over there, and I'd like to meet Sirius' family, and clear his name. So I'm going with him. We leave tomorrow." She finished, taking in everyone's shocked faces.


End file.
